One month after Seymour Hersh reported that the US blew up the Nord Stream pipelines, US officials find a scapegoat in Ukraine and stenographers in the New York Times.
yes, that was a clever line, wasn't it? well, we didn't think it was an anti-Ukrainian group (or did we? didn't the US all but charge Russia with this crime against itself?)
Amusing to see the level of contempt for their readership displayed by the NYT and Die Zeit. Not sure at what level Western state-run media will reach peak propaganda and outright ridiculousness levels but we can't be far off.
Americans are the most propagandized people on the planet, while also being the least aware of it. We are sold a myth of a time in the past that never existed, which we are told we can get back to, if only we spend enough money and blood on the next war. Each time, we are led willingly to believe that we just barely missed it and must endeavor on again, in Sisyphean agony, the oasis of the promised land of the future, glimmering eternally in our hearts and minds, our bodies and minds pressed in excruciating dullness to the grindstone of work at home or murder abroad, both of which, together, will one day set us free. We must not look back at the failures of the past, or we shall perish, as did Persephone and the wife of Lot, who were forever damned for the crime of questioning the path forward, the latter having lost even her name.
I’ve been lamenting the state of journalism, whether it comes from legacy publications or the Gish Gallop bullshit that suffices for alternative journalism, since time immemorial.
Hi Aaron, brilliant piece. I am editor at Ctxt.es, a Spanish independent magazine; we translated the Hersh scoop and would love to do the same with this one of yours. Would that be ok with you?
Good essay. I think I find the Deep State's contemptuous view of our intelligence the most offensive thing about the Deep State. They peddle any cheap lie in their treasure chests of cheap lies and don't care if we buy it or not. Like a coffee table book, just put out for idle chit-chat, no deep conversations. Imagine, that for such propaganda the US is meting out at least a billion dollars a year and I am sure it is now much higher than that. And not one whit more convincing for it.
It's become more and more clear to me that these propaganda stories are specifically tailored to an audience who already believes everything the government says about the topic at hand. They're not meant to convince skeptical minds, but merely reinforce perceptions that aid US policy goals.
This is desperately needed, now more than ever, because true mainstream journalism is now DOA in the US, and the American people in particular have been propagandized and psyop-ed to the gills
People like Aaron keep that absolutely essential tradition of speaking truth to power alive
And you have shaped up to be one of our most essential journalists. Your family must be so proud of you. I don’t know you but I’m an old leftie and I’m proud of you 🤗.
I love that Seymour Hersh says he reads your stuff every day. Cuz he def recognizes real-deal journalists and real-deal journalism.
Love your guest hosting of JD show as well - simply perfect. Great choice of guest host by JD, another guy that recognizes real-deal journalism.
Fake journo A Kasparian might hate you, but many of us love you, and we trust you to keep on bringing it!
So, me and my went to Walmart, and we got a couple of those sweet pup tents. Then we got those really thick overalls. We got the traffic cone orange because orange is warmer than khaki. And now we’re gonna go climb Mount Everest.
That’s basically what’s being suggested. A couple dudes with an OP mask & snorkel kit, some m-80s, and one of those Wile E. Coyote alarm clocks and they’re in business.
It gets old being treated like idiots.
Nice Job Aaron MATÉ. Really great work really quickly. Glad you exist, Bud. 😊🇨🇦
There are no scapegoats here -- Biden’s War party mafia attacked a key ally infrastructure -- the beginning of the end of both NATO and EU -- tools of US dominance over Europe...
The Die Zeit piece reads like a parody Hersh article. I get that a US reporter might want to simply write propaganda for his country but why a German reporter would implicitly volunteer to humiliate himself and his country is beyond me.
Hard to believe people have any trust in the US media, since they helped the Bush/Obama administrations lie us into every middle eastern war we had. During the Trump years many on the left were complicit in supporting Russia-gate, and the attacks on Trump, and operated with no sense of journalistic independence and played up to their own "liberal" base. So here we are. What goes around, comes around, as they say. The war machine has almost always had full backing from the media, and now they basically serve their own interests rather then the interests of the American people.
The evasive and disingenuous statements from the US government shows how messed up this proxy war against Russia is. In a more typical war, the US would openly take credit for blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines as in "we warned Russia and everyone what would happen if Putin invaded !" Typically the US would be proud of their covert action as very few in the world could accomplish the task successfully.
Who knows??? -- President Biden probably has a burning desire to publicly tell the world "On my orders as President and Commander-in-Chief of the United States ........." And even his handlers won't be able to stop him. A Colonel Jessup moment for a cognitively-impaired Biden?
If the Sy Hersh story is true, then the Russians would likely know the US was behind it and the US would know that they know. And Biden would know it's not something that can be admitted, much less bragged about, because it's actually an act of war (of course he could always go off script again). And so goes the game of geo-political chicannery and covert connivances. The Nord Stream pipeline sabotage is one of the most important events of the war thus far, yet the level of disinterest by subservient media is truly one for the ages.
I totally believe it was a pro Ukrainian group because I totally believe it was the United States
yes, that was a clever line, wasn't it? well, we didn't think it was an anti-Ukrainian group (or did we? didn't the US all but charge Russia with this crime against itself?)
Amusing to see the level of contempt for their readership displayed by the NYT and Die Zeit. Not sure at what level Western state-run media will reach peak propaganda and outright ridiculousness levels but we can't be far off.
I'm always surprised to see the NYT moving the bar of insulting the intelligence of their readers higher and higher.
Americans are the most propagandized people on the planet, while also being the least aware of it. We are sold a myth of a time in the past that never existed, which we are told we can get back to, if only we spend enough money and blood on the next war. Each time, we are led willingly to believe that we just barely missed it and must endeavor on again, in Sisyphean agony, the oasis of the promised land of the future, glimmering eternally in our hearts and minds, our bodies and minds pressed in excruciating dullness to the grindstone of work at home or murder abroad, both of which, together, will one day set us free. We must not look back at the failures of the past, or we shall perish, as did Persephone and the wife of Lot, who were forever damned for the crime of questioning the path forward, the latter having lost even her name.
read Sy Hersh on Daniel Ellsberg. you will further lament the state of journalism today. pathetic.
I did and I had a couple small tears in the corner of my eyes.
I’ve been lamenting the state of journalism, whether it comes from legacy publications or the Gish Gallop bullshit that suffices for alternative journalism, since time immemorial.
Forgot to say that YOU WRITE LIKE A DREAM.
High praise from this former English major.
Hi Aaron, brilliant piece. I am editor at Ctxt.es, a Spanish independent magazine; we translated the Hersh scoop and would love to do the same with this one of yours. Would that be ok with you?
Thanks in advance.
Best from Madrid
no problem, thanks for asking
Good essay. I think I find the Deep State's contemptuous view of our intelligence the most offensive thing about the Deep State. They peddle any cheap lie in their treasure chests of cheap lies and don't care if we buy it or not. Like a coffee table book, just put out for idle chit-chat, no deep conversations. Imagine, that for such propaganda the US is meting out at least a billion dollars a year and I am sure it is now much higher than that. And not one whit more convincing for it.
It's become more and more clear to me that these propaganda stories are specifically tailored to an audience who already believes everything the government says about the topic at hand. They're not meant to convince skeptical minds, but merely reinforce perceptions that aid US policy goals.
Thanks for all you do, Mr. Mate
What you do world-class journalism!
This is desperately needed, now more than ever, because true mainstream journalism is now DOA in the US, and the American people in particular have been propagandized and psyop-ed to the gills
People like Aaron keep that absolutely essential tradition of speaking truth to power alive
And you have shaped up to be one of our most essential journalists. Your family must be so proud of you. I don’t know you but I’m an old leftie and I’m proud of you 🤗.
I love that Seymour Hersh says he reads your stuff every day. Cuz he def recognizes real-deal journalists and real-deal journalism.
Love your guest hosting of JD show as well - simply perfect. Great choice of guest host by JD, another guy that recognizes real-deal journalism.
Fake journo A Kasparian might hate you, but many of us love you, and we trust you to keep on bringing it!
So, me and my went to Walmart, and we got a couple of those sweet pup tents. Then we got those really thick overalls. We got the traffic cone orange because orange is warmer than khaki. And now we’re gonna go climb Mount Everest.
That’s basically what’s being suggested. A couple dudes with an OP mask & snorkel kit, some m-80s, and one of those Wile E. Coyote alarm clocks and they’re in business.
It gets old being treated like idiots.
Nice Job Aaron MATÉ. Really great work really quickly. Glad you exist, Bud. 😊🇨🇦
There are no scapegoats here -- Biden’s War party mafia attacked a key ally infrastructure -- the beginning of the end of both NATO and EU -- tools of US dominance over Europe...
The Die Zeit piece reads like a parody Hersh article. I get that a US reporter might want to simply write propaganda for his country but why a German reporter would implicitly volunteer to humiliate himself and his country is beyond me.
Hard to believe people have any trust in the US media, since they helped the Bush/Obama administrations lie us into every middle eastern war we had. During the Trump years many on the left were complicit in supporting Russia-gate, and the attacks on Trump, and operated with no sense of journalistic independence and played up to their own "liberal" base. So here we are. What goes around, comes around, as they say. The war machine has almost always had full backing from the media, and now they basically serve their own interests rather then the interests of the American people.
On the upside, readers in the NYTS comments thread were NOT having it.
The evasive and disingenuous statements from the US government shows how messed up this proxy war against Russia is. In a more typical war, the US would openly take credit for blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines as in "we warned Russia and everyone what would happen if Putin invaded !" Typically the US would be proud of their covert action as very few in the world could accomplish the task successfully.
Who knows??? -- President Biden probably has a burning desire to publicly tell the world "On my orders as President and Commander-in-Chief of the United States ........." And even his handlers won't be able to stop him. A Colonel Jessup moment for a cognitively-impaired Biden?
If the Sy Hersh story is true, then the Russians would likely know the US was behind it and the US would know that they know. And Biden would know it's not something that can be admitted, much less bragged about, because it's actually an act of war (of course he could always go off script again). And so goes the game of geo-political chicannery and covert connivances. The Nord Stream pipeline sabotage is one of the most important events of the war thus far, yet the level of disinterest by subservient media is truly one for the ages.
Someone has leaked the name of the pro-Ukrainian group. They are known as the "2-S Mavy Shmeels."
Well done. How can NYT reporting compare to Seymour Hersh!